sacrilege
English
Etymology
Circa 1300, original sense “stealing something sacred”. Borrowed from Old French sacrilege, from Latin sacrilegium, from sacrilegus (“sacrilegious”), from phrase sacrum legere, from sacrum (from sacer (“sacred, holy”)) + legō (“gather; take, steal”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂k- and *leǵ-. Sense of “profanation” from late 14th century.[1]
Unrelated to religion, which is ultimately from ligō (“I tie, bind, or bandage”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ- (“to bind”).
Noun
sacrilege (usually uncountable, plural sacrileges)
- Desecration, profanation, misuse or violation of something regarded as sacred.
Derived terms
Translations
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References
- “sacrilege” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.
Latin
Etymology
From sacrilegus (“sacrilegious”), from sacer (“sacred, holy”) + legō (“gather; take, steal”).
Synonyms
- (impiously): irreligiōsē, nefāriē
Related terms
References
- sacrilege in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- sacrilege in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia
Old French
Etymology
First attested at the end of the 12th century, borrowed from Latin sacrilegium[1].
Noun
sacrilege m (oblique plural sacrileges, nominative singular sacrileges, nominative plural sacrilege)
References
- “sacrilège” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).